Meaning: 1. [Adjective] Unrealistically optimistic, pie-in-the-sky, as blue-sky estimates of profits. 2. [Adjective] Worthless, of no value, unprofitable, as blue-sky property or stock. 3. [Verb] To subject a stock to the blue-sky laws of a state, designed to protect the public from fraudulent, overoptimistic promises made to sell stock or other property.

Notes: We all cringe when a beautiful word with pleasant connotations is used to refer to the nefarious but today's good word is just that. On the one hand, it refers to an overly optimistic simple-mindedness, as blue-sky hopes for the future, which implies no evil. However, it also has a legal sense, suggesting the use of overly optimistic promises known to be false to make a sale. This tactic has led to blue-sky laws to protect the public from fraud. By the way, the verb has forms: (s/he) blue-skies, (is) blue-skying, or blue-skied.No paronyms, though.

In Play: The original meaning of this good word suggests simple simple-mindedness: "Dietrich's blue-sky idea of making money by selling pet rocks has everyone at the office laughing." However, using blue-sky figures to sell stock is far from simple-minded from the seller's perspective: "Having been convicted under the state's blue-sky laws, Miss Deeds will be seeing few blue skies for the next two years.

Word History: The conversion of this phrase to a word was motivated by the metaphorical use of the phrase to refer to a perfect day with no clouds, no rain. Notice that clouds (a dark and cloudy past) are associated with displeasure if not misdeeds, as is rain (don't rain on my parade). A blue sky indicates no problems, happiness, clear sailing in a sun-lit TV commercial, where the solution to any problem is only a purchase away. (We hope Bruce Spicer of McNees, Wallace & Nurik Law Firm in Harrisburg, PA is enjoying blue skies today—real ones. We thank him for suggesting this innocent word that unwittingly became a legal term for misbehavior.)

Quite right, WQ, as a literal translation, but interestingly enough, the adjectival is not used in Swedish to refer to someone with blue eyes (a large proportion of the Swedish population), as the figurative meaning has taken over completely....

In English, the metaphoric sense of blue-eyed is "favored, preferred"--He's the teacher's blue-eyd boy, implies he is her pet. Although pejorative (used sarcastically), the thrust is quite different from the Swedish correlate.

I, too, thought I'd never heard the sense of "blue-eyed" meaning "favored, preferred" before, until some forgotton brain cells popped up and told me that they had, and to do a quick search, which led me to find the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall:"

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?

Any thoughts on whether that's what he meant in the lyrics? Given the second sentence (" . . . my darling young one?"), blue-eyed here must mean "favored, preferred."

Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." -- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee